Hermione felt a chill run down her spine. Before that fatal thought could even finish processing in her mind, her eyes gave the answer.
"I like it, okay?"
Hermione didn't dare look at his expression, turned around as if fleeing, her steps so fast they were almost chaotic, and plunged into the bedroom door.
"I'm going to check the room! Don't follow me!"
The door clicked shut behind Hermione.
Draco stood in the living room, staring at the tightly closed door, a smile lingering on his lips for a long time.
"You run fast."
In the bedroom, Hermione leaned against the door, her hands covering her face, her heart pounding as if she had just run through the Forbidden Forest.
She took a deep breath, forced herself to look up, and pretended to be busy looking around the bedroom: the bed, the desk, the bookcase...
"What's there to panic about?" Hermione didn't know what she had to panic about. Isn't liking someone a natural thing?
I just never said it outright before.
There was silence on the other side of the door for only a few seconds.
Then three very regular knocks were heard.
Hermione's back was still against the door, and her heart skipped a beat.
My heart started pounding.
What's he doing here?
Is that even a question?
The bedroom isn't going anywhere, the bed is fixed, and the bookshelf is nailed to the wall; there's no need to visit it. He wants to come see himself.
They definitely want to see the impact of that "I like you, okay?" on their own, to see if she's like this now, with her back pressed against the door, her ears burning, and even counting her breaths.
" Hermione?" Draco's voice came through the door, but the hint of amusement in his voice was impossible to hide.
"I'd also like to see the bedroom layout."
Hermione bit her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
no.
I can't let him see me like this.
Hermione pressed her burning cheeks with her palms, then touched her ears. They were burning hot, beyond saving. She tucked a strand of hair stuck to the corner of her mouth behind her ear, clenched her hands into fists, and let them hang down.
Take a deep breath. Once. Twice.
Then, she gathered her loose hair behind her shoulder, tugged at her collar, and pretended to have just finished checking the room and was standing by the door. She then gently pinched the web between her thumb and forefinger with her fingernail to push the feverish heat back into her chest.
alright.
At least on the surface, she reverted to being Hermione Granger, the one who would frown and point out flaws in his logic. So she unlocked the door, opened it a crack, not fully, and stood in the doorway, telling him in a flat tone, "There's nothing to see. Just a bed, a table, and a cabinet of books."
Draco leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets, and couldn't help but laugh as he looked into Hermione's uneasy eyes.
Hermione wanted to ask him what he was laughing at, but the words caught in her throat. She felt that if she said them, the anger she had managed to suppress would return tenfold, because she knew what Draco was laughing at.
"Can I go in and take a look?" Draco asked.
"Okay, come in."
There was nothing Hermione could do to refuse, nor did she have any reason to. So she simply opened the door a little wider, stepped aside to make room for her, and adopted a "do as you please" attitude.
She turned and went inside first.
After Draco came in, he really didn't stare at Hermione anymore.
At least, not at first.
He acted as if he were a supervisor inspecting the dormitories, slowly starting from the doorway, "One single bed."
Draco walked to the bed and first tapped twice on the solid wood frame. Listening to the dull, sturdy sound the wood made, he said with dissatisfaction, "Even the mats for the hunting dogs in the Malfoy family stables are nicer than this, but it's barely sleepable."
Hermione, who was standing by the window pretending to admire the scenery, replied, "We're not here on vacation. As long as I can sleep, that's fine."
That's true.
"The desk is nice." Draco pulled out a chair, sat down, leaned back, stretched his legs, and tested the angle. "You can stretch your legs out; it's perfect for Miss Granger to read."
Draco's gaze shifted back to the wall.
The entire floor-to-ceiling bookcase had deep wooden shelves and was quite tall; the top two shelves required a chair to reach.
Of course, those who can use magic don't need it.
One Summoning Charm will suffice.
"The previous one was willing to practice his skills in his own little world, and he got beaten up quite a bit," Draco said deliberately.
Sure enough, Hermione followed his gaze to the wall.
She didn't realize until she looked that the room was much more lively than the one she had hurriedly swept through earlier. On the wall near the bookshelf, there was a small patch of an off-color. The school hadn't reopened, perhaps because they were informing students that magic could be used in the dormitories.
"It seems this isn't like some of the corridors at Hogwarts," Draco's tone was starting to carry a hint of admiration. "Students can throw practice charms into their dorm rooms; as long as they don't blow up the building or wake up the neighbors, there's a high chance no one will come knocking."
"Don't cause trouble here."
"Reckless behavior? What kind of reckless behavior are you referring to?"
Hermione stared at his face, which suddenly looked incredibly irritating, and the heat she had just suppressed from her ears suddenly returned.
She knew that smirking face all too well.
"... I mean magic. Don't practice your weird spells on this wall, this glass, this ceiling."
"So Miss Granger was worried about was 'magic' causing trouble." Draco nodded thoughtfully.
Then, with a confident tone, he said, "Don't worry, honey. We've been sleeping in the same bed for so long, don't you know me?"
"I would never do anything reckless."
"I'm only interested in one person."
Hermione had heard this countless times.
But she can't stand it every time she hears it.
"... Could you please stop talking like that?"
"What's this?" Draco asked, waiting for her.
"Indecent..."
No, we can't let him continue.
Hermione turned around in a panic, her eyes catching sight of a lifeline, and she grabbed at the strange light shining through the window.
"... There's something strange about this window glass."
Hermione's voice rose a little too quickly, so quickly that even she could hear the deliberate effort in it, but she couldn't care less about that now.
"Look, when the light shines through, the edges are shimmering."
Hearing this, Draco was indeed pulled back to his senses by her words.
He turned his head to look at the window and squinted.
"Indeed." Draco's interest was piqued.
"He actually has some skill."
As he spoke, he walked to the window, stretched out his finger, and gently touched the glass, releasing a tentative spell.
When magic touches glass, it's like sinking into water—it leaves no trace and is directly absorbed and dissolved by the glass.
Hermione was startled and quickly grabbed him:
" Draco! Why are you so reckless?"
"Let's test the material. Now that you mention it, I feel like this glass isn't made of ordinary material. I didn't expect the school to be so thoughtful, even considering that the windows might be accidentally damaged by a student's magic."
Draco's tone was very relaxed.